Menu

Thursday, 10 March 2011

How to murder a slice of toast

As I've indicated previously, I am not averse to a cooked breakfast. In fact I'd go as far as to say it's one of my favourite meals. When all else fails I have even been known to resort to one of those breakfast-in-a-bun things, though they are second best. (if you must have one, I'd highly recommend the Marks and Spencer Cafe 'all day breakfast ciabatta'. It's small and overpriced, but very tasty. Even better with a touch of brown sauce.)

Alongside the usual plate of goodies I like to see a piece of toast. And this is where things go wrong at many of the supermarket style eateries and some hotels, where all the breakfast components are laid out in a buffet. The better establishments prepare toast to order, but lesser places make toast ahead of time and leave it under an infra-red lamp. Result: it's limp and nowhere near hot enough. The essentials with toast are that you can hold a piece in your hand by the edge without it flopping about, and that it has a high enough surface temperature to melt the butter (or spread if you prefer - I'm not fussy). What you don't want is a cold, pale yellow layer of fatty substance on the surface. That's a sure sign of disappointment ahead.

So please take note, eateries. Make your toast to order. You know it makes sense.